Effect of Oral Health Educational Program on Awareness and Oral Health Status of Children with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Oral health education is a powerful tool in improving the oral hygiene knowledge and gingival health. Objective: Assess the effect of oral health educational program on the oral health awareness and oral health status of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus children in Cairo, Egypt. Patients and methods: 44 Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Egyptian children aged 6-14 years old were enrolled. The eligible children were randomized using random number generation computer program into two groups, Intervention group (22) and Control group (22). Manual scaling and the oral health educational program were conducted for the intervention group. Follow up visits were every month for three successive months, to collect OHI-s for both groups. Results: Average knowledge of intervention group was 72.2% before the program, which became 80.9% after it. The median OHI-s decreased statistically significant (p= .028) from baseline (1.94) to the fourth visit (1.42) in the intervention group. Conclusion: The oral health knowledge among T1DM parents and children was satisfactory but their knowledge about the daily practice was deficient. Significant improvement in OHI-s records after implementation of the program.